Get IRS Penalties Reduced or Completely Removed
The IRS can add penalties for late filing, late payment, or inaccuracies on a tax return, which can significantly increase your tax debt. Penalty Abatement is a program that allows the IRS to remove these penalties if you can show you had a reasonable cause for the failure. We will build a strong case and prepare a request to help you save money by eliminating or reducing these fines.
What is Penalty Abatement?
Penalty abatement is the process of getting the IRS to remove a penalty that was assessed against you. There are three primary reasons the IRS may approve a request for penalty abatement:
Reasonable Cause: This is the most common reason. You must demonstrate that you acted in a responsible manner but were unable to meet your tax obligations due to circumstances beyond your control, such as a serious illness, a natural disaster, or a death in the family.
First-Time Abatement: The IRS has a program that allows for the abatement of certain penalties for taxpayers who have a clean compliance record for the past three years.
Statutory Exception: In rare cases, the IRS may grant penalty relief due to a specific legal provision.
Our Process for Penalty Abatement
Our experts will:
Review your case to determine which type of abatement you qualify for.
Gather all necessary documentation to support your claim for reasonable cause.
Draft and submit a compelling request for abatement to the IRS.
Negotiate with the IRS on your behalf to get your penalties removed.
Frequently Asked Questions About IRS Penalty Abatement and Relief
First Time Abate (FTA) is an administrative waiver under Internal Revenue Manual 20.1.1.3.6.1. It allows qualifying taxpayers to remove Failure to File (IRC § 6651(a)(1)) and Failure to Pay (IRC § 6651(a)(2)) penalties for a single tax period if they have a clean compliance history with no penalties assessed over the preceding three tax years.
Under Treasury Regulation § 301.6651-1(c), reasonable cause requires proving that you exercised ordinary business care and prudence but were still unable to file or pay on time. Valid grounds include severe illness, death of an immediate family member, natural disasters, unavoidable absence, or destruction of essential records.
Statutory interest (IRC § 6601) cannot be waived purely on reasonable cause because it is mandated by federal law. However, when IRS penalties are successfully abated or reduced, the compounding interest that accrued directly on those penalties is automatically removed.
Taxpayers can request administrative penalty abatement by submitting IRS Form 843 (Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement) supported by detailed factual declarations and documentary evidence establishing reasonable cause.